Rubio presses Lebanon on confiscation of weapons from Hezbollah - Al Jazeera

Beirut, Lebanon – On October 5, a minivan was stopped at a checkpoint in Dahr el-Baydar between the Bekaa Valley and Mount Lebanon region. Lebanese security forces discovered the car was carrying hundreds of kilos of explosive materials, including TNT and C-4, according to Lebanese officials. Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Rubio presses Lebanon on confiscation of weapons from Hezbollahlist 2 of 3Qatar announces ‘massive’ solar plant project in Lebanonlist 3 of 3‘Trying to dominate’: In Cyprus, some fear Israel’s growing influenceend of listOn Thursday, Hezbollah MP Hassan Fadlallah released a statement saying that the explosives belonged to Hezbollah which had demanded their return, along with the release of the two people detained in the vehicle. “From the moment the vehicle was detained, the relevant bodies within [Hezbollah] immediately contacted the security and judicial agencies and informed them that the vehicle and its cargo belonged to the resistance,” Fadlallah said in his statement.

Jerusalem Post/World NewsRubio urged Aoun to hold accountable those who ordered, financed, and directed the shipment of of hundreds of kilograms of explosives from Hezbollah. Follow us on GoogleUnited States Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks to the media after meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, in New York, US, September 23, 2026.(photo credit: Yuki Iwamura/Pool via REUTERS)ByREUTERSOCTOBER 15, 2026 23:17Updated: OCTOBER 16, 2026 02:25US Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun about the confiscation of hundreds of kilograms of explosives from Hezbollah, a US State Department official said on Thursday. Rubio urged Aoun to hold accountable those who ordered, financed and directed the shipment, and "underscored that returning explosives to (Hezbollah) should be out of the question," the US official said. Rubio urged direct military-to-military communication between Lebanese and Israeli forces "for deconfliction," the official added. A Hezbollah lawmaker said earlier the explosives seized last week by Lebanese security forces belonged to his group.

The Iran-backed group acknowledges ownership of 500 kilograms of explosives seized on the road to Beirut, insisting they were intended solely for use against Israel; Lebanese authorities warn against illegal weapons as analysts see a direct challenge to disarmament effortsAFP| Related TopicsThe explosives were discovered last week in a vehicle traveling along the main highway connecting eastern Lebanon, near the Syrian border, with Beirut. According to a judicial source cited by AFP, the shipment included 250 kilograms of TNT and 250 kilograms of C-4, a powerful plastic explosive. Hezbollah members attend a ceremony honoring Qassem Soleimani and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis in a Lebanese village (Photo: Reuters)"The vehicle and its cargo belong to the resistance" against Israel, Hezbollah lawmaker Hassan Fadlallah said, demanding the immediate release of those arrested in connection with the seizure and the return of the vehicle and its contents. He insisted the explosives were intended exclusively for operations against Israel.